Letters to the Editor for Tuesday — September 30, 2003

• Praising teachers

• Comment should have been edited out of program

• Log may be more trouble than it’s worth

Praising teachers

Every year when school starts I gain a new appreciation and respect for teachers. I remember having conversation with Judge Masuoka in the past when his wife was still a teacher, of how he used to go to her classroom to help her prepare for the new school year. It reminded me of myself when I used to go to Peggy’s classroom to help her prepare for the opening of the new year. Undoubtedly, many husbands do also.

Teachers do that. They prepare their classrooms before school starts by scrubbing, dusting, and putting things up on the bulletin board preparing lessons, so that your child may be welcomed to a cheery warm classroom. These are the hidden things teachers do that we don’t think about.

Did you know that a teacher who teaches English in high school who has 30 students for six classes, would have 180 students per day. And if she gave a written assignment to each and spent 10 minutes reading and correcting each, that teacher would spend approximately 30 hours for each assignment that she gives, reading and correcting them. This would all be done outside of that teacher’s school day.

I ask – how many of us would be that committed, that willing to do what many of our teachers do? I may be asked, isn’t that an exaggeration? Is it? What about the math teacher? Or science teacher? What about the elementary teacher who calls you after school to discuss your child’s problems?

Many of us would prefer, after 4:30 or pau hana to go home and kick off our shoes. Do we think of the teacher as having a family, being a housewife or husband, cook, cleaner-upper, grocery-shopper, driver, in addition to doing all the tasks involved to educate our children? Do we think of teachers as staying up after their children have gone to bed, preparing for our child’s school day tomorrow? Have we thought of how committed a teacher needs to be to do all of these things?

I do. And I thank the Lord that we do have them, for children are God’s gift to us. And you, Sensei, are God’s gift to them. Thank you.

Sherwood Hara

Kauai Representative

Comment should have been edited out of program

Dr. Lucy Miller (Letters to the Editor, Friday, September 26, 2003) is quite correct in describing Mayor Harry Kim’s remark, “You have to be dumb, deaf and ignorant” in the Edgy Lee ice documentary as a prejudicial bias, and I am not aware that he has apologized for it yet.

Moreover, his remark will continue to insult viewers each time the film is rebroadcast, particularly if stations do not add closed captions — an unfortunate omission of the state-wide broadcast last Wednesday.

Indeed, if captions are not added in the future, Mr. Kim will be effectively insulting people behind their backs.

I am additionally surprised that the producers did not have the sensitivity to edit out Mr. Kim’s unfortunate remark before releasing the film. Excuses aside, stations and the film producers should be sure not to repeat the damage in the future, and the producers should be sure to add captions to any videotapes distributed to schools or other organizations.

Larry Geller

Honolulu

Log may be more trouble than it’s worth

Read the letters in the Forum on cooking rights with interest. Made me wonder. What if the person whose tent caught on fire had called the Fire Department beforehand. Would the fire have started anyway? And if it did, would the call have helped? Suppose a neighbor noticed the smoke and called 911. The dispatcher would have consulted the newly minted “Fire and Smoke” log and told the caller all was well, just a huli huli fire. No further investigation until the fire got really bad, or until the tent owner called 911…

Seems the “Fire and Smoke” log has questionable benefits, could add serious new risks, and would certainly add to the burdens on citizens and County officials alike.

John A. Love

Kapa‘a,